Houston team owner Bob McNair told The Houston Chronicle on Saturday night: "The process has been underway, and it continues. The process isn't over. We have other candidates to interview next week."

O’Brien is 15-9 in two seasons at Penn State, taking over a program in the middle of turmoil. Prior to taking the Penn State job, O’Brien spent five seasons as an offensive assistant for Bill Belichick in New England.

The 44-year-old O'Brien drew interest from the NFL last year, interviewing with Cleveland and Philadelphia before deciding to stay at Penn State. His contract was re-worked after last season and the buyout if he were to leave for an NFL job was lowered to about $6.5 million.

Houston is 2-13 this season, having lost 13 games in a row. The team fired Gary Kubiak earlier this month.